Many people have asked me how I survive in Bulgaria with so little money. It is no secret that I came over here with hardly any savings, no job and very much with an adventure on a shoestring in mind. Most of my money that I came over with vanished completely as I crashed someone's car and had to fork out thousands of pounds to replace it. Without that incident, I would not have had to go back to the UK for a few months to work for more funds to stay here.
Back to the question and maybe an answer. Living here, I can easily live on my own for next to nothing. I was living on less that 20 Bulgarian leva a week when living on my own in my first year here and I ate well, no restaurants or uneccessary spending. Right now I could quite easily return to that economical life although the cost of living here has risen substantially since joining the EU so to survive here solo it might have risen to around 30 Bulgarian leva a week, plus the fact that expatriates have extra cost as the running of their business have to be paid, (Your land can only be owned by a registered Bulgarian company of which you are the manager.)
Right now though we are finding it difficult to live on 100 Bulgarian lev a week, mainly because we are having to provide food for our family, fuel costs for the car, electric, gas and water bills for two homes. When we leave Galia's family home, which will happen one day, we are not sure when or where we will end up, we should be able to survive on around 70 Bulgarian leva a week or even less if we gave up the weekly trips to the Skalitsa farmhouse.
Whatever happens, both Galia and I remain quite sure that I will not have to return to the UK to work, we will try an make out here indefinitely no matter how hard it is. If Galia was to lose her job again then we would really struggle and make even more cuts on our simple lifestyle. This is how it used to be not so long ago in the 1990s with Galia. Like many others here., she had no job, no social security to fall back on and had to resort to selling her possessions to pay for food. She doesn't like to talk about it, but I know they were close to starving many a time, which happened in many town and city areas throughout Bulgaria. Those in the villages where luckier as had their own food from their farms to rely on of course.
I don't think it will ever get to the 'starving' level whatever happens as families support each other in times of need. In the village that would certainly be the case with our close friends there who would also 'help us out' food wise. We could survive financially if we moved out into a village where generations had lived on almost nothing other than their working on the land, wits and total practical way of life.
If there is one thing I have found out since living here in Bulgaria, it is that town and city living is far more expensive that village life. That is entirely due to the barrage of advertising in the totally business based cities and town environments. The seeds of materialism have been sown and the only escape is out of town, but then the invasion of the television is still very much a threat, even out of town.
The answer ot the original question can now be answered - How do I survive on so little money? Simple I live the lifestyle of a Bulgarian.
Image via Wikipedia
Back to the question and maybe an answer. Living here, I can easily live on my own for next to nothing. I was living on less that 20 Bulgarian leva a week when living on my own in my first year here and I ate well, no restaurants or uneccessary spending. Right now I could quite easily return to that economical life although the cost of living here has risen substantially since joining the EU so to survive here solo it might have risen to around 30 Bulgarian leva a week, plus the fact that expatriates have extra cost as the running of their business have to be paid, (Your land can only be owned by a registered Bulgarian company of which you are the manager.)
Right now though we are finding it difficult to live on 100 Bulgarian lev a week, mainly because we are having to provide food for our family, fuel costs for the car, electric, gas and water bills for two homes. When we leave Galia's family home, which will happen one day, we are not sure when or where we will end up, we should be able to survive on around 70 Bulgarian leva a week or even less if we gave up the weekly trips to the Skalitsa farmhouse.
Whatever happens, both Galia and I remain quite sure that I will not have to return to the UK to work, we will try an make out here indefinitely no matter how hard it is. If Galia was to lose her job again then we would really struggle and make even more cuts on our simple lifestyle. This is how it used to be not so long ago in the 1990s with Galia. Like many others here., she had no job, no social security to fall back on and had to resort to selling her possessions to pay for food. She doesn't like to talk about it, but I know they were close to starving many a time, which happened in many town and city areas throughout Bulgaria. Those in the villages where luckier as had their own food from their farms to rely on of course.
I don't think it will ever get to the 'starving' level whatever happens as families support each other in times of need. In the village that would certainly be the case with our close friends there who would also 'help us out' food wise. We could survive financially if we moved out into a village where generations had lived on almost nothing other than their working on the land, wits and total practical way of life.
If there is one thing I have found out since living here in Bulgaria, it is that town and city living is far more expensive that village life. That is entirely due to the barrage of advertising in the totally business based cities and town environments. The seeds of materialism have been sown and the only escape is out of town, but then the invasion of the television is still very much a threat, even out of town.
The answer ot the original question can now be answered - How do I survive on so little money? Simple I live the lifestyle of a Bulgarian.
Image via Wikipedia
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Hi Martin,
ReplyDeleteFinally I'm able to log in for a comment. It's been no-go for a few weeks
Hi Martin,
ReplyDeleteFinally, I'm able to log in to ur blog ! It's been no-go for a while.
U sure hv alot on ur mind n thanks for sharing them here. My dear mom had to struggle too when she was bringing up 7 kids with one small pay cheque. We didnt hv any social security system as well. All of us had a job after school to help mom pay the bills. United, we stand strong !
400 leva is abt 202 euro a month. I tried to keep to a budget of 100 euro's for food. In the summer, meats r more expensive due to the popularity of the BBQ season. We hv a freezer especially to stock up when they r on sale.
To be honest, living in uncertainties for the future is scary. Hubby n I hv goals set up n r striving towards it. We do get an earful from others that we had better enjoy the fruits of our labour now while we can. We know it's a gamble to save for our golden years but it has to be done. At that point in life, opportunities for paid work is almost nul when one needs to keep paying the inflating bills. I hv seen that with my relatives here - stuck in a room n surviving on overcooked meals-on-wheels ! State pensions dont go far - just enough to stay alive. We look in on them regularly n take them out when there's a need to replace some personal items. I give them haircuts to save the 15 euro they cant afford !
The general image of NL is one of a wealthy nation but there r thousands who fell thru the cracks. Bureaucracies often stifle one's courage to fill in tons of uncomprehensible forms to get some help. There's no guarantee that one would get it too. For those of us who r working now, we r heavily weighed down by heavy taxes. I always feel that this is one efficient way to keep its citizens under a big thumb ! Yes, I'm constantly thinking of a place where we could live free of rigourous rules, regulations n social obligations to the state !
It all seems kinda trifle compared to ur situation. Just a thought - is it possible to ask for financial assistance in the UK as I assumed u hv been paying into the system in the past ?
Hi Martin, thanks for sharing that. I went up Google and found that 20 lev is around 22 quid at the moment. Does that include your rent/accommodation as well? The irony is that since I've moved to London, we realised that we have been spending lesser as compared to back in Singapore. Though the rent is killing us, we ended up cooking much more at home. I guess that evens out.
ReplyDeleteHang on there pal.
C K
Living in the village is always cheaper it seems but it takes a certain kind of person to be able to do it. When I do move to Thailand in the next year or so I can live in the village with the family but I think O would go nuts there in a matter of weeks. I can easily amuse myself but for how long.
ReplyDeleteLuckily the city thats 10 minutes from the family farm is very reasonable and will give me what I need. Although Thailand is inexpensive if you want it to be it would be tough I think to live on so little...then again I haven't really tried yet either.
Hi Dutchie,
ReplyDeleteSo glad the problem was ironed out and you're back here.
I came ot Bulagria very much to get back to basics not having every Tom, Dick and Harry who have no interests in anything but themselves telling me what I can and can't do (politics of course). In the UK and in NL by the sounds of it you just can't do that as you have to walk along a straight road that where you can't stop and there are no services stations until you come to the end of the orad, but by then most would have run out of gas!
One thing is for sure, I rather be poor and free rather than rich and imprisoned.
Financial assistance for the UK Dutchie, even though I have paid tens of thousands of pound in taxes etc? They would still want financial assistance from me unitl I reach 65 and then I'd have to beg!
HI CK,
ReplyDeleteIt's worse or better depending on which way you look at it, but 20 Bulgarian leva is actually around £9, it was around $7 when I first came to Bulgaria. I am still better of here than in the UK.
No mortgage or rent to pay here of course.
CK, I am more than happy on a shoestring here and for me the quality of life is so much better. As long as there is enough to pay the bills and food and drink, that's all you have to worry about and like I said I can do that on next to nothing - but not nothing of course.
I really don't know how people can afford to live in London, I couldn't when I left home at 18 years of age and it far worse now and I'm a Londoner!
Hi Talen,
ReplyDeleteI know you are right when you say most people would go stir crazy living in a village,m in fact many here that have bought in villages either spend all their time trying trying to amuse themselves in 'Little Britain' communities or want to sell up and move to the nearest Town or City.
It is a bit different for me, I work on the land when I'm in the village there has never been any point where I get bored or frustrated even when I was living on my own. There is always something to do, even in the winter. After all, most mostif not all property in villages iun Bulagria are desgned for self or semi-self sufficiency. Many expatrates take these farms and turn them into luxury homes with lawns. Now I could quite easily get bored with a lawn here, it is not practical and serves no purpose in Bulgaria it is a show thing in my eye.
Full time in a village wodl suit me, but not everyhone like you say. Even Galia goes a bit crazy after two days in the village and can't wait to get back tot town and her family, but then she's a town girl.
Martin, this is really amazing. I am an ex-village kid but that's no comparison to having to face what an adult would in a foreign land as well to be confronted with survival necessities daily and for the near future.
ReplyDeleteI remember reading at one of your earlier articles where you mentioned that your family members and relatives said that you would never make it on your own in Bulgaria.
But the revelation at this Post is indeed something more profound than your kindred's disbelief.
It takes brilliant resourcefulness for any person to overcome the odds that you encounter. You are a resilient to have somehow stayed with your decision.
I wish you the very best Martin and you do have remarkable strength.
Well, that's for the countryside. 30 leva per week in Sofia... too tough. I don't think it's doable.
ReplyDeleteOne leva sounds it is is almost exactly one Australian dollar. That makes living on 30 Leva a week pretty impressive. Your fight to reach your life's goal of the life that you have setup is far far more impressive however.
ReplyDeleteHi Martin,
ReplyDeleteA fascinating post. I have a post scheduled for my other blog www.facedestiny.com/blog about the cost of living. I was irritated by an article I'd read suggesting a UK ex-pat needed £1,000 per month to survive.
You are definitely proving that's just not true (as are we but to a lesser extent). It's partly a matter of choices - some of which are easier to make than others. I agree with you that living in towns and cities makes you likely to spend more, as there is often more to tempt you, that you probably don't really need.
Quality of life is about so much more than money.
When we finally get our land we are looking at a low cost living solution that will be very unusual for Greece. Watch the blog for more details!
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ReplyDelete